Advocates described EDSA II as "popular" but critics view the uprising as a conspiracy among political and business elites, military top brass and Catholic Cardinal Jaime Sin.[2] International reaction to the revolt was mixed, with some foreign nations including the United States immediately recognising the legitimacy of Arroyo's presidency, and foreign commentators describing it as "a defeat for due process of law", "mob rule", and a "de factocoup".[3]

The only means of legitimizing the event was the last-minute Supreme Court ruling that "the welfare of the people is the supreme law."[4] But by then, the Armed Forces of the Philippines had already withdrawn support for the president, which some analysts called unconstitutional, and most foreign political analysts agreeing with this assessment. William Overholt, a Hong Kong-based political economist said that "It is either being called mob rule or mob rule as a cover for a well-planned coup, ... but either way, it's not democracy."[3] It should also be noted that opinion was divided during EDSA II about whether Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as the incumbent Vice President should be President if Joseph Estrada was ousted; many groups who participated in EDSA II expressly stated that they did not want Arroyo for president either, and some of them would later participate in EDSA III. The prevailing Constitution of the Philippines calls for the Vice President of the Philippines, Arroyo at the time, to act as interim president only when the sitting President dies, resigns, or becomes incapacitated, none of which occurred during EDSA II.

On October 4, 2000, Ilocos Sur Governor Luis "Chavit" Singson, a longtime friend of President Joseph Estrada, went public with accusations that Estrada, his family and friends received millions of pesos from operations of the illegal numbers game, jueteng.[5]

On November 13, 2000, the House of Representatives led by Speaker Manuel Villar transmitted the Articles of Impeachment, signed by 115 representatives, to the Senate. This caused shakeups in the leadership of both houses of congress.[5] The impeachment trial was formally opened on November 20, with twenty-one senators taking their oaths as judges, and Supreme Court Chief JusticeHilario Davide, Jr. presiding. The trial began on December 7.[5]

The day-to-day trial was covered on live Philippine television and received the highest viewing rating at the time.[5] Among the highlights of the trial was the testimony of Clarissa Ocampo, senior vice president of Equitable PCI Bank, who testified that she was one foot away from Estrada when he signed the name "Jose Velarde" documents involving a P500 million investment agreement with their bank in February 2000.[5]

Background

Estrada was a popular actor-turned politician who ran under the slogan "Erap para sa mahirap," or "Erap for the poor" [7] (referring to Estrada’s nickname “Erap”).[8]

He was accused of receiving PHP 10 million monthly as protection money from gambling lords from November 1998 to August 2000 while he was president.[9] He also allegedly received PHP 130 million in kickbacks released by then budget secretary Benjamin Diokno for tobacco farmers,[9] while his wife Loi Ejercito’s foundation allegedly received P100 million "to the detriment of regular beneficiaries."[10] Estrada was also accused of misusing 52 smuggled luxury vehicles,[9] nepotism,[11] and he allegedly hid assets and bought mansions for his mistresses.[12] An impeachment trial against Estrada began in the Philippine Senate on December 7, 2000.[13] Trial proceedings ended on January 18, 2001, after the trial jury decided not to examine evidence relating to Estrada's alleged secret bank account.[14] After the breakdown of the impeachment trial, protesters assembled on EDSA, Metro Manila's main thoroughfare, "in scenes reminiscent of the 1986 uprising which ousted the former dictator Ferdinand Marcos."[14]

Timeline in EDSA 2

On January 16, 2001, the impeachmenttrial of President Estrada moved to the investigation of an envelope containing crucial evidence that would allegedly prove acts of political corruption by Estrada. Senators allied with Estrada moved to block the evidence. The conflict between the senator-judges, and the prosecution became deeper, but then Senate Majority Floor Leader Francisco Tatad requested to the Impeachment court to make a vote for opening the second envelope. The vote resulted in 10 senators in favor of examining the evidence, and 11 senators in favor of suppressing it. The list of senators who voted for the second envelope are as follows:

After the vote, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. resigned as Senate President and walked out of the impeachment proceedings together with the 9 opposition Senators and 11 prosecutors in the Estrada impeachment trial. The 11 administration senators who voted YES to block the opening of the second envelope remained in Senate Session Hall together with the members of the defense. The phrase "JOE'S COHORTS" quickly surfaced as a mnemonic device for remembering their names (JOE'S COHORTS: Jaworski, Oreta, Enrile, Santiago, Coseteng, Osmena, Honasan, Ople, Revilla, Tatad, Sotto).[15] However, in February 2001, at the initiative of Senate President Aquilino Pimentel, Jr., the second envelope was opened before the local and foreign media and it contained the document that stated that Jaime Dichavez and not Estrada owned the "Jose Velarde Account".[16][17]

Day 1: Wednesday, January 17, 2001

All 11 prosecutors in the Estrada impeachment trial resigned. Sen. Tessie Aquino-Oreta, one of three senators who voted against opening the envelope (a "NO" vote), was seen on national television; most assumed that she was dancing joyfully as the opposition walked out. This further fuelled the growing anti-Erap sentiments of the crowd gathered at EDSA Shrine, and she became the most vilified of the 11 senators. She was labelled a "prostitute" and a "concubine" of Erap for her dancing act, while Sen. Defensor-Santiago was also ridiculed by the crowd who branded her a "lunatic".

As he did in the EDSA I protests, Cardinal Jaime Sin called on the people to join the rally at the shrine. During the night, people began to gather in large numbers around the shrine.

Day 2: Thursday, January 18, 2001

The crowd continues to grow, bolstered by students from private schools and left-wing organizations. Activists from the group Bayan and Akbayan as well as lawyers of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and other bar associations joined in the thousands of protesters. A similar parallel anti-Estrada rally was held in Makati, and at the shrine area, just as in 1986, stars and icons from the music industry entertained the vast crowds.

Day 3: Friday, January 19, 2001

At 2:00 PM, Joseph Estrada appears on television for the first time since the beginning of the protests and maintains that he will not resign. He says he wants the impeachment trial to continue, stressing that only a guilty verdict will remove him from office.

At 6:15 PM, Estrada again appears on television, calling for a snap presidential election to be held concurrently with congressional and local elections on May 14, 2001. He adds that he will not run in this election.

Day 4: Saturday, January 20, 2001

At noon, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo takes her oath of office in the presence of the crowd at EDSA, becoming the 14th president of the Philippines. At the same time, however, a large anti-Estrada crowd had already gathered at the historic Mendiola Bridge, having left the shrine earlier in the day, only to face PNP personnel and the pro-Estrada supporters behind them, who had by now already attacked both the police and the anti-Estrada protesters and heckling them and even members of the press.

At 2:00 PM, Estrada releases a letter saying he had "strong and serious doubts about the legality and constitutionality of her proclamation as president".[18] In that same letter, however, he says he would give up his office in order to allow for national reconciliation.

Later, Estrada and his family evacuate Malacañan Palace on boat along the Pasig River. They are smiling and waving to reporters and shaking hands with the remaining Cabinet members and palace employees. He was initially placed under house arrest in San Juan, but was later transferred to his rest home in Sampaloc, a small village in Tanay, Rizal.

Criticism

World reaction to the administration change was mixed. Though foreign nations, including the United States, immediately expressed recognition of the legitimacy of Arroyo's presidency, foreign commentators described the revolt as "a defeat for due process of law", "mob rule", and a "de facto coup".[3]

On February 2008 parts of the Catholic Church that played a vital role during EDSA II issued a sort of an apology. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president and Iloilo Archbishop Angel Lagdameo expressed disappointment in Mrs. Arroyo, saying that the event which has become known as EDSA II, installed a president who was reported in February 2008 by the Philippine newspaper The Daily Tribune as "... now being adjudged in surveys as the country's 'most corrupt' leader".[26]